Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr., announced today
that two former mental health counselors have been charged by the
Baltimore City grand jury in separate criminal indictments with
felony Medicaid fraud and felony theft.

Paul Ojewoye, 48, of the 3700 block of Sonara Road in Randallstown,
and Abisayo Ojuko, 50, of the unit block of Liberty Place Road
in Baltimore are each alleged to have caused losses to the Medicaid
program during their association with a mental health counseling
company called Calvary Healthcare, Inc. by causing Calvary to
submit claims seeking payment from Medicaid for services which
each knew had not been provided. The actions in question occurred
between December 2002 and December 2003.
The cases are being prosecuted by the Medicaid Fraud Control
Unit (MFCU) of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office.
The cases were referred to the MFCU by the Mental Hygiene Administration
(MHA), which suspended payments to Calvary in December of 2003.
MHA has been working with the MFCU to root out fraud in its programs,
and several cases of possible fraudulent behavior by MHA providers
are currently under investigation by the Attorney General’s
Office.

While an indictment is only an accusation and all persons are
presumed innocent unless proven guilty, a charge of felony Medicaid
fraud is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in prison
and a $100,000 fine. Felony theft is punishable by a maximum sentence
of 15 years and a fine of $25,000.

Ojuko’s arraignment is scheduled in Baltimore City Circuit
Court on July 27, 2006; Ojewoye’s is set for July 28, 2006.